KARACHI: Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL), riding on an undefeated century from Awais Zia, cruised to a fifth straight success in the Quaid-i-Azam One-day Cup on Monday when they trounced Pakistan Television (PTV) by seven wickets in Islamabad.

In the Pool ‘B’ fixture at the Marghazar Cricket Ground, PTV mustered 237 all out in 48.4 overs with captain Saud Shakeel striking a 75-ball 54 with the aid of five boundaries.

Former Pakistan all-rounder Abdul Razzaq hit three fours and one six in making 38 off 51 deliveries.

Pakistan left-arm paceman Usman Khan Shinwari was the pick SSGCL bowlers with figures of three for 39 in 9.4 overs with Razzaq among his victims.

SSGCL, in reply, made short work of the target as they got there in the 38th over. The left-handed Awais was the architect behind his team’s resounding victory as the left-hander thrashed his way to 108 from 100 balls, while hitting up 11 boundaries and a brace of sixes.

Sami Aslam, his opening partner, dominated early play in the chase by scoring 48 (47 balls, seven fours and one six) in the first-wicket partnership of 79.

Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) swapped places with National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) at the top of Pool ‘A’ after the former sealed a win on Duckworth-Lewis method against Habib Bank Limited (HBL) while NBP suffered a heartbreaking 13-run loss versus Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL).

A victory for HBL at the KRL Stadium in Rawalpindi would have put level on points had the weather not intervened at a time when KRL were ahead by nine runs on the D/L method calculations.

Chasing 321, KRL had reached a commanding 155-1 in 28 overs with opener Arsalan Bajwa producing a spectacular 84-ball 90 not out, featuring 11 fours and one six.

Earlier, HBL posted 320-7 with Abid Ali continuing his excellent form. This time the opener struck a 103-ball 91 that included 10 boundaries. Sajjad Ali made 63 off 68 balls (four fours and two sixes) in the opening stand of 110, while Zohaib Khan blasted a 39-ball 51 (six fours).

Left-hander Ali Waqas slammed 102 off 122 balls (nine fours and two sixes), while Pakistan batsman Asif Ali banged seven sixes and three fours in a hurricane 68 off just 38 deliveries to help SNGPL collect an imposing 352-5 in 50 overs at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad.

NBP made a brave attempt to reach the daunting target but they were dismissed for 339 on the last ball of an absorbing contest to leave SNGPL winners only for the second time this season. Test discard Shan Masood led from the front with superb 112-ball contribution of 132 (14 fours and two sixes).

Wapda also emerged victorious in fortuitous circumstances when sealed a D/L method result in their favour by five runs against Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) at the Pindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi.

After bowling out ZTBL for 263, Wapda — who have now eight points — had moved to 189-5 in 38 overs when play was suspended with skipper Salman Butt playing a fine undefeated innings of 97. The left-hander’s 114-ball knock included 13 hits to the fence.

Peshawar improved their quarter-final aspirations by handing a 49-run defeat upon Lahore Whites at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

Former Pakistan T20 opener Mukhtar Ahmed bludgeoned a blistering 161 (107 balls, 20 fours and seven sixes) to propel Rawalpindi to a seven-wicket triumph against Karachi Whites here at the UBL Sports Complex.

In other matches, Multan whipped Lahore Blues by eight wickets at the Multan Cricket Stadium in Multan and Islamabad sealed a five win by D/L Method against Fata at the Diamond Club Ground in the federal capital.

Monday’s results:

Fifth round:
Pool ‘A’:

At Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad: SNGPL beat NBP by 13 runs.

SNGPL 352-5 in 50 overs (Ali Waqas 102, Asif Ali 68, Imran Butt 67, Hussain Talat 38, Imran Ali 24 not out; Ghulam Mudassar 3-85); NBP 339 in 50 overs (Shan Masood 132, Kamran Ghulam 74, Ahsan Ali 46, Umar Siddique 45; Hussain Talat 4-54, Khurram Shehzad 2-32, Bilawal Bhatti 2-65).

At Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore: Peshawar beat Lahore Whites by 49 runs.

PESHAWAR 231 in 49.4 overs (Gohar Ali 63, Mohammad Mohsin 53, Nabi Gul 33, Sajid Khan 21; Waqas Ahmed 2-40, Zaib Alam 2-50); LAHORE WHITES 182-9 in 50 overs (Afaq Ahmed 57, Adnan Danish 27, Nauman Anwar 20; Jibran Khan 3-23, Mohammad Mohsin 2-19).

At KRL Stadium, Rawalpindi: KRL beat HBL by nine runs (D/L Method).

HBL 320-7 in 50 overs (Abid Ali 91, Sajjad Ali 63, Zohaib Khan 51, Imran Farhat 33, Ramiz Aziz 30; Noman Ali 2-30, Sameen Gul 2-74); KRL 155-1 in 28 overs (Arsalan Bajwa 90 not out, Usman Arshad 30 not out, Jaahid Ali 20).

At Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad: Islamabad beat Fata by five runs (D/L Method).

ISLAMABAD 281-9 in 50 overs (Fahad Iqbal 83, Farmanullah 63, Mohammad Hamza Nadeem 32m Ali Sarfraz 30, Sarmad Bhatti 29; Naseer Akram 3-59, Abdul Rauf 2-68); FATA 186-5 in 35.3 overs (Fazal-ur-Rehman 60, Rehan Afridi 47, Asad Afridi 46 not out; Arsal Sheikh 2-40).

Pool ‘B’:

At UBL Sports Complex, Karachi: Rawalpindi beat Karachi Whites by seven wickets.

KARACHI WHITES 274 in 50 overs (Kashif Iqbal 77, Saad Ali 45, Babar Hussain Agha 45, Omair Bin Yousuf 37, Mohammad Hasan 31; Saad Altaf 3-50, Asif Ali 2-51, Mohammad Ismail 2-62); RAWALPINDI 275-3 in 40.2 overs (Mukhtar Ahmed 161, Mohammad Nawaz 66 not out, Naved Malik 24).

At Multan Cricket Stadium, Multan: Multan beat Lahore Blues by eight wickets.

LAHORE BLUES 195 in 44.2 overs (Fahad-ul-Haq 55, Tayyab Tahir 44, Saad Nasim 30; Shoaib Bilal 2-25, Ghulam Rehman 2-29, Saddam Afridi 2-55); MULTAN 196-2 in 32 overs (Zeeshan Ashraf 73, Imran Rafiq 67 not out, Khalilullah 39 not out).

At Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi: Wapda beat ZTBL by five runs (D/L Method).

ZTBL 263 in 49.4 overs (Shahrukh Ali 52, Anas Mustafa 39, Shakeel Ansar 37, Waqas Saleem 35, Saadullah Ghauri 34, Aaqib Javed 23; Mansoor Amjad 3-44, Ehsan Adil 2-59); WAPDA 189-5 in 38 overs (Salman Butt 97 not out, Mohammad Abu Bakar 40, Mansoor Amjad 32; Mohammad Ali 2-31).

At Marghazar Cricket Ground, Islamabad: SSGCL beat PTV by seven wickets.

PTV 237 in 48.4 overs (Saud Shakeel 54, Ali Khan 38, Abdul Razzaq 38, Nihal Mansoor 26; Usman Khan Shinwari 3-39, Zia-ul-Haq 2-38, Mohammad Irfan Jr 2-59); SSGCL 238-3 in 37.5 overs (Awais Zia 108 not out, Sami Aslam 48, Fawad Alam 37, Adil Amin 30 not out).

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2018